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| << April18, 2005 - [India Thinkers Net] North-East India news updates |
April20, 2005 - [India Thinkers Net]News updates from CHRO >> |
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yogi sikand <ysikand@yahoo.com> Date: Mon Apr 18, 2005 6:06pm Subject: GUJARAT GENOCIDE VICTIMS DEMAND JUSTICE Aaj bhi ham hamare mukkam par nahi ja ke rah sakte," Eye-witness Aiyubmiya, witness to the massacre wherein 33 persons were killed from Sardarpura village. Mehsana where they lived for decades says the village is no more their home. "Jab ham bach ke nikle, aath ghante ke baad, aur laash aur laash hamare ghar ke chabootre par giri hui thi; jakar kaanpte kaanpte ham police van me baithe, to police wale ne kaha, ' kya itne log bach gaye hai, kya? Hamne socha sab khatm hue!'" Smt Zakia Jaffri, wife of former Parliamentarian Ahsan Jaffri. 'Mera bees saal ka bacche ko police ne nanga kar ke bithaya, peeth mod kar, goliyon mar mar kar police ne khatm kiya. Aaj bhi hamara case wase hee pada hai, sessions court mein." Zahid Kadri, father These were only part of the harrowing tales of the victims of the Gujarat genocide and their long-drawn out struggle for justice, recounted today at a convention in New Delhi -Flashback Gujarat 2002-The Indian State and Mass Crime" [organized by the Citizens for Justice and Peace, Mumbai, Safradr Hashmi Memorial Trust, New Delhi and Human Rights Law Netwrok, New Delhi] at the Speaker's Hall, Constitution Club New Delhi on 16th April 2005. These testimonies once again highlighted the stark fact that for justice to be finally ensured, for the major carnages let alone the hundreds of major crimes that took place in Gujarat 2002, the process of struggling for justice needs to be supported by the state and it's administration. Instead, key witnesses of the major carnages, three years after the horrors that lost them near and dear ones cannot step back into their villages or localities simply because they have chosen to fight for justice. Many are both victims of the massacre and key eye-witnesses as well. This is the stark and shameful reality of Gujarat, three years after the Genocide where at a rough estimate, about 61, 000 persons remain internally displaced within Gujarat, of which all or most belong to the minority community. The consultation was hugely attended by a wide spectrum of groups, citizens and even members of the political class. Polit bureau member of the CPI(M), Sitaram Yechury said that the occasion was a sharp reminder to the political class to revive it's campaign on the breakdown of constitutional machinery in Gujarat and bring it back into national focus. Congress spokesperson, Anand Sharma said that it was the duty of members of the political class to support the struggle for justice. Brinda Karat, vice-president, AIDWA and member of the polit bureau CPI(M), urged that the plea for re-investigation by CBI be urgently heard by the Supreme Court and that the political class train attention on the issue of attempts to intimidate witnesses and re-location of thousands of internally displaced persons within Gujarat. Former governor, Romesh Bhandari urged that the battle for secularism be taken to the grassroots. Eye-witnesses who are also victims, of incidents like the Gulberg massacre [28-2-2002 wherein 68 persons were slaughtered including former Member of Parliament, Shri Ahsan Jaffri and 10-15 girls and women subjected to brute sexual violence], Naroda gaon and Patiya [28-2-2002 wherein over 120 persons were similarly exterminated while a complicit police and elected representatives watched and led mobs respectively], Sardarpura [1-3-2002] wherein 33 persons were brutally killed and in another incident 14 burnt alive, and the Ode killings in Anand district on 1-3-2002 to 3-3-2002 in which totally 27 persons were killed recounted their life stories. Many eye-witnesses like a key witness from Naroda gaon and his family members have been thrice or four times penalized on account for their desire to struggle for justice with false criminal cases being slapped against them. The attempt is clearly to intimidate all those who stand for the struggle for justice. Over 60 witnesses from the major massacres have filed affidavits in the Supreme Court of India pointing out these gross facts, due to which the criminal trials in these cases have been stayed by the SC since November 21, 2003. Pleas for re-investigation by the CBI are pending and need to be heard forthwith. Senior jurist, Shri Shanti Bhushan urged that a clarion call emerge out of this consultation on the shameful breakdown of constitutional machinery in Gujarat that is a fit case for the invocation of Article 356 of the Constitution. He even urged that it was the duty of the present government to follow this mandate following the historic verdict of the Supreme Court in the BEST Bakery case and dismiss the Gujarat government. While there are legitimate apprehensions among many about the use of Article 356, lest it may set a precedent for the Centre to get rid of the government in Opposition-ruled states, the Gujarat case is an exceptional one in so much as the state government has been seriously implicated by the National Human Rights Commission [NHRC] and even the Supreme Court, in what is perhaps the most inhuman, horrendous and un-Constitutional acts in the history of post-Independence India. In the past few months courageous statements of serving police officials have lent voice to the outrage expressed by these institutions and hundreds of groups and individuals. These stands by serving policemen, that been made public that clearly show that orders were issued by none less than the present chief minister, Narendra Modi that minorities who resist or protest should be exterminated. Put together, the imposition of Article 356 in Gujarat is warranted not only on grounds of humanity and Constitutional propriety, but for the very maintenance of the country's unity, integrity ad secular fabric. Other speakers included advocates Kamini Jaiswal, Mihir Desai, Suhel Tirmizi Teesta Setalvad and citizens and activists like Fr Cedric Prakash, Ahmedabad, former president western region CII, Anu Agha and film artiste, Rahul Bose. A widespread signature campaign on the issues raised at the consultation is now being considered by a wide spectrum of groups all over the country. Teesta Setalvad Citizens for Justice and Peace Nirant, Juhu Tara Road, Juhu, Mumbai -400049 Phone: 26603927/26602288 e-mail: cjp02in@... -------------------------------------------------------- |
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April20, 2005 - [India Thinkers Net]News updates from CHRO >> |
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